title: Scared by you: modulation of bodily-self by emotional body-postures in autism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bodily self-recognition is one aspect of our ability to distinguish between self and others and is central to effective socialization. Here we explored the influence of emotional body postures on bodily self-processing in typically developing (TD) as well as in high-functioning ASD children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects' bodies were photographed while expressing endogenously- (self-generated, Experiment 1) or exogenously-driven body emotions (imitated upon request, Experiment 2). Postures conveying positive (happiness), negative (fearful) and neutral valences were used. These pictures served as stimuli in a visual matching-to-sample task with self and others' body-images.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A similar self-versus-others advantage was found in TD and in ASD children, since participants were faster with stimuli representing their own than others' body. This "self-advantage" was modulated by self-expressed emotional body postures being present with pictures of happy and neutral, but not fearful body images. This modulation was stronger when emotional postures were endogenously rather than exogenously driven. Moreover, faster responses were observed for others' fearful rather than happy or neutral body images in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bodily self-advantage is a low-level function present in typically developing (TD) and in high-functioning ASD children. Body postures, especially when they are endogenously generated, modulate the self and others' body processing. The advantage for processing others' fearful, comparing to others' happy and neutral, body postures may have played a crucial evolutionary role for species survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 5-40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zamagni
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dolcini
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gessaroli
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Santelli
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frassinetti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D004532:Ego; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*